


A Rose By Any Other Name

by RainbowMatildas



Series: Loki and Peter Being Buds [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Epic Friendship, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), I love them so much, Language of Flowers, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Precious Peter Parker, avengers love their tiny spider boy, chapter one is literally just a donald trump rant courtesy of peter, guys being dudes, what's better than this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 21:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15228237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowMatildas/pseuds/RainbowMatildas
Summary: The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers.Snippets of Loki and Peter being buds, told thematically using the language of flowers.





	A Rose By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came largely from one of my all-time favorite books called The View Down by Francis Steury (check out [their tumblr)](http://elsinore-snores.tumblr.com/).  
> You can buy the e-book on [Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/580507378/the-view-down-ebook?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=the%20view%20down&ref=sr_gallery-1-1) for just $5 (or $15 for the paperback).

_Purple iris - royalty, eloquence_

Peter Parker was not stupid.

He was, truthfully, very smart, and there were quite a few people ready to jump to defend that fact. Peter himself wasn’t particularly self-conscious when it came to academics. Like all high school freshmen, he had his fair share of insecurities, but intelligence wasn’t one of them. He never had trouble in school, and therefore his grades weren’t a serious concern to him.

Until he had to take Public Speaking, that is.

Why was that even a requirement?

Better question - why did Peter think it was a good idea to take it freshmen year? Forget “getting it out of the way.” He would’ve put it off until senior year had he known there were going to be graded speeches.

In hindsight, maybe that was obvious. But, hey, he thought he may have to talk in front of a small group for a minute or two. Not give a five minute speech in front of all thirty people in the class.

For a grade.

It was barely October and he was already wondering if high school wasn’t something he could get a doctor’s note for. _Maybe if he asked Bruce nicely…_

“Damn it!” Peter threw his pen down and groaned into his hands. He had less than twenty-four hours to get ready and he couldn’t even get through a single sentence without saying “um.”

“Such language from the ever-precious Peter Parker,” a voice clucked behind him.

Peter turned to find Loki watching him, lips turned up in a smirk. On a normal day, Peter knew, he’d probably blush and stammer something stupid, but tonight? He merely huffed and turned back to his notebook.

Loki chuckled. “And a temper to match! Please, do share your trials and misfortunes of adolescence,” he said, leaning over his shoulder.

“I don’t have any trials or misfortunes!” Peter snapped. He slammed his notebook shut and glared up at Loki.

“Tsk, tsk, spiderling. Lying to the god of lies?” Loki tapped his chin with a slender finger. “Not even a valiant attempt, at that.”

Peter was ready to rip his hair out. “Would you just leave me alone? Go annoy someone who isn’t about to fail out of high school,” he muttered.

For a moment Loki was quiet, and Peter thought perhaps he’d actually left, but then Loki was sliding his homework and a vase of purple irises to the side with a graceful wave of his hand, perching himself on the coffee table.

“Speak.”

“Wha-?”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “You won’t fix anything by swearing at it. Tell me why you are so troubled, outside of your usual hormonal instability,” he said smoothly.

Peter glared at his feet. “I- I’m just too stupid for this.”

“Rather vague,” Loki sounded amused. “You’ll have to elaborate, child.”

“‘M not a child,” Peter said under his breath.

“Then act like it,” he said, incredulous. “Only a child would complain endlessly about trivial problems yet make no effort to remedy them.”

Peter hesitated. He couldn’t argue with that, truthfully. “It’s just…” A deep breath. “I have to give this speech in class tomorrow, and I’m going to totally fail. There’s no way I can talk for five whole minutes in front of everybody without making a fool of myself and getting a bad grade.”

Loki hummed thoughtfully. “You have already written it, yes?”

“Yeah, but I can’t just-”

“Do it.”

Peter blinked. “I… what?”

Loki crossed his legs and leaned back on his elbows. “You heard me,” he said simply. “Present your little speech. You shan’t keep your audience waiting with bated breath, Mr. Parker.”

Peter sighed. “Fine.” He had nothing to lose, he figured. Summoning what little courage he had, he took a deep breath and began. “Foreign affairs and international-”

“Not like that!” He cut him off immediately. “You won’t be sitting down to give this presentation tomorrow, will you? By the gods, stand up!”

Peter gritted his teeth and stood up, beginning once more. “Foreign affairs and international relations have been at the forefront of American politics for the last century. Harkening back to-”

This time, Loki let him get through barely two lines. “Remember your audience’s eyes. No, not - are they teaching you nothing?” He stood up and grabbed Peter’s arm, dragging him around the table to the open area in front of the television. He stood dangerously close to Peter, leaning down to meet his gaze. “Don’t merely see my eyes. _Meet_ them. Bore into my _soul!_ You had better reach into the very fabric of my being to tell me why I should care one bit about all this international nonsense.”

Peter opened his mouth to re-start, but he didn’t get a single word out before Loki was grabbing his shoulders and straightening his posture.

“Chin up, back straight,” he said firmly. “You’re standing like some common Peter.”

“I am Peter!”

“Not now, you’re not,” Loki snapped. “You are _Peter Parker_ , renowned expert on foreign affairs and international relations, and you have to look the part. Would a warrior slouch while giving a rallying speech to his troops? Would a king stare at the ground as he proposed an alliance before all the leaders of neighboring kingdoms? Your audience are not loyal subjects. They are not required to do your bidding and hang on your every word. You must _make them._ ”

Peter bit back the sharp retort waiting on his tongue. “Foreign affairs and international relations have been at the forefront of American politics for the last century,” he said, meeting Loki’s steely gaze with fierce meaning. “Harkening back to the earliest days of our independence, the art of diplomacy was an invaluable tool in finding allies and gaining support for the American cause. The very war that brought us to freedom would not have been won without France, whose support, in turn, would not have been won without the eloquent American ambassador Benjamin Franklin. In recent years, however, many feel that diplomacy has been placed on the backburner with what we commonly call ‘political correctness.’”

“And why am I supposed to care?” Loki pressed, crossing his arms over his chest.

That was the last straw. Peter exploded. “We can’t rely on the leaders we’ve elected to represent our wishes and wellbeing to do so anymore! This art of diplomacy that won us our independence has been manipulated and warped to be completely unrecognizable by not only Americans, but the rest of the world, too! As much as baby-boomers would like to blame this on millennials and social media, we can’t ignore that the very people placing this blame on us are the people who deserve it! The individuals who sit in our Senate, our Congress, the Oval Office - they’ve lost all integrity for human decency in word and action!”

On and on he ranted. He was so frustrated with Loki - so flippant and disinterested. Sure, he wasn’t from earth, but didn’t he care? Peter gave all sorts of facts, names, sources, and data. He raised his voice, monitored his tone and inflections. His hands began by his sides, but he found himself gesturing here and there like a prosecutor in court. Minutes went by, yet he was still going strong. He didn’t even realize he’d gone through the whole speech until he was on the last sentence.

“‘When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.’ That is the American way,” he finished, panting slightly.

“Wonderful.”

He blinked. “I… what?”

Loki was smiling, a strange sight that Peter wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before. The absence of his usual smirk was startling.

“That was very good. So long as you can repeat that tomorrow, you won’t have any problem getting the grade you want,” said Loki, twirling a strand of dark hair around his finger. He stood up as he chuckled at Peter’s gobsmacked expression. “Shocked, are we? You should know I can be of great assistance when I choose to be, Mr. Parker.”

“That was… All the yelling at me and fixing my posture and stuff? That was all to help me?” Peter asked blankly.

Loki grinned. “Now you’ve learned from the best. Put it to good use, won’t you? These people you speak of sound like they could use some of that signature Peter Parker zeal.”

With a snap of his fingers, the god vanished, leaving Peter staring where he’d just stood. After a moment, he shook himself out of his daze and went to pick up his notebook. _Maybe Tony would be willing to play audience, too…_

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't how long this will be? Right now I have 5 more flowers picked out, so lemme know if you have a favorite in mind.  
> Pink carnation - a mother’s love  
> Daisy - innocence  
> Christmas rose - eternity  
> Lily of the valley - sweetness and purity of heart  
> Zinnia - a reminder of absent friends  
> 


End file.
